Programming the Undruggable Through AI-Designed Binders for Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

• Why IDRs have resisted drug discovery: How conformational heterogeneity, short linear motifs, and phase-separation biology place IDPs at the center of disease, yet beyond the reach of traditional modalities
• A new design paradigm for disordered targets: Deep-learning–enabled de novo binders and proteases that selectively recognize short (≥8 aa) and PTM-defined motifs within IDRs, achieving high affinity and specificity
• What programmable control unlocks: Case studies across oncology, neurodegeneration, and viral targets demonstrating inhibition, relocalization, and catalytic cleavage as new therapeutic mechanisms

Speakers:

Kejia Wu

Post Doc, Baker Lab, Institute for Protein Design

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis